Not to be Served for Breakfast

This paper may look familiar as it was included in the Design Is Not Art exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt. Eiweiss also appeared on the cover of Nest magazine in the fall of 1998. Trockel is a sculptor, printmaker and designer and is a well-known figure of the contemporary art scene in Germany, with her work frequently confronting feminine stereotypes. She entered the international art scene in the 1980s and represented Germany in the Venice Biennale in 1999. Since then she has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries in Europe and America. This design was inspired by her "Egg White" photos published in 1993. To create these images she would whip up egg whites and smear them onto a background. She then photographed this smear and had positives made of the negatives, which reversed the light and shadows. It is the silhouettes of these prints which form the design on Eiweiss, with each repeat containing eight smears. This paper is a good example of contemporary flocking as each of the whipped egg motifs is printed in taupe flock on a lighter colored ground.

Flocking is a very old wallpaper tradition which allowed many of the early flocked papers to better imitate textiles. The oldest dated wallcovering in the collection, made in the 1670s, is a canvas that was block printed and flocked to look like a more expensive textile. Later, as it was realized that the wool flock reflects light differently than the printed paper it was used in a less imitative manner and designs employed flock to create more depth in a design. Flock seems to be making a resurgence today as contemporary designers and consumers enjoy the tactile nature of this material. Historically, flock was made from remnants of the textile industry, with the bits of fabric or threads being chopped into miniscule pieces. To adhere the flock to the paper, the design would be printed in varnish, the paper was then laid in a trough, and the flock was rained down onto the tacky varnish. Once dry the excess flock was shaken off.